Friday, September 29, 2006

According to him, the problems of globalization include:An unfair global trade regime that impedes developmentAn unstable global financial system that results in recurrent crises, with poor countries repeatedly finding themselves burdened with unsustainable debtA global intellectual property regime that denies access to affordable life-saving drugs, even as AIDS ravages the developing world.Instead monies flowing from rich to poor countries, the reverse is happening with the rich better able to bear the risks of currency and interest-rate fluctuations, leaving the poor to bear the brunt of this volatility.

He feels globalization can be changed and will be changed. It is a question of whether the change will be forced upon by a crisis or result from careful, democratic deliberation and debate. Crisis driven change risks producing a backlash against globalization, or a haphazard reshaping of it, thus merely setting the stage for more problems later on. By contrast, taking control of the process holds out the possibility of remaking globalization, so that it at last lives up to its potential and its promise: higher living standards for everyone in the world.